Gwyn Richards is dean of IU's Jacobs School of Music. Indiana University | Courtesy photo
“La Boheme” was broadcast at the Indiana University Memorial Stadium during the 2014-15 IU Opera season. The broadcast was a way for the school to attempt to reach new audiences. Indiana University | Courtesy photo
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When it comes to opera and classical music, Jacobs School of Music Dean Gwyn Richards is in an enviable position.
“Because we’re on a university campus, there does tend to be a very good population of young people, collegiate age,” Richards said.
While opera and classical music groups across the country try to find ways to grow their audiences, Richards knows what will draw IU’s students. Operas such as “Magic Flute” or the annual production of “The Nutcracker” are guaranteed to draw large audiences regardless of age.
“We have a pretty good intergenerational mix, in large part because we’re on a campus. One of the big parts of our mission is to draw the IU students to the performances that we do. That seems to be pretty good,” Richards said.
But what does worry the dean is how the hands-on relationship people have to music has changed over the years.
He said 1909 was a good year for the piano, with more than 350,000 made in the U.S.
“You had a very hands-on relationship with music because there was no other way to access it,” he said.
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